Historically, silk screening has been used for inexpensive decoration of materials, including clothing such as Tee shirts and the like, since a selected pattern can be reproduced with minimal labor and expense. More recently, designer clothes have also been silkscreened.
One of the drawbacks of silk screening lies in the fact that if a particular pattern was believed to be of the type which would be in demand for an extended period, then the screen would be stored, such that it could be reused without having to be replaced. This, of course, required utilization of a higher quality screen so that it could withstand the multiple usage, but beyond this concern a difficulty existed in the storage of the screen itself. Since the screen is stretched on a frame so that it can reproduce with high quality and integrity, it cannot be easily removed and replaced. Because of the difficulty in removing and replacing, these screens have historically been stored on the frame, which requires additional storage space, since the frame is bulky. This storage method further required that the person doing the screening carry an inventory of frames, since, obviously, a frame that is in storage cannot be used for another screening job until the initial screen has been removed and replaced.
Over the years, a large variety of means have been used for stretching fabric or the like, and these are illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 484,137 granted to Caufield, Oct. 11, 1892, which discloses a device for keeping leather under tension during the curing process and includes means for adjusting the tension.
U.S. Pat. No. 673,197 granted to Collins, Apr. 30, 1901, discloses a device for stretching a garment.
U.S. Pat. No. 721,749 granted to Sanders, Mar. 30, 1903, discloses a device for stretching trousers, which includes a means for adjusting the stretching frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 886,400 discloses a shade roller which is of interest in the present invention, because it likewise discloses a means for securing the shade to the roller.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,546,400 granted to Nichols, Jul. 21, 1925, discloses a molding cloth stretcher wherein the cloth is secured to frame rollers by outwardly extending pins or the like and then the fabric is placed under tension.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,711,670 granted to Brennan, May 7, 1929, discloses a method for securing a screen to a framework.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,601,902 granted to Dubbs, Aug. 31, 1971, discloses a silk screen stretching frame and the method of attaching the screen to the frame, as well as increasing the tension thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,293 granted to Newman, Sep. 30, 1975, discloses a silk screen frame, as well as a method of attaching the screen and adjusting the tension.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,467 granted to Larson, Aug. 29, 1989, discloses a silk screen frame, the method of attaching the screen and the means for adjusting the tension on the screen.